UNFPA and the MDGs - The Millennium Development Goals

UNFPA's work in the fields of reproductive health and rights, women's empowerment and population issues is at the core of the achievement of the MDGs, especially promoting gender equality (MDG 3), improving maternal health (MDG 5) and preventing HIV (MDG 6).

Poverty cannot and will not be eradicated without also achieving the ICPD goals. Universal access to education and reproductive health care are crucial steps that can help individuals break out of cycles of poverty. Reproductive health and rights are central to women's empowerment and empowered women are the key to healthier and more productive families, communities and countries. The ICPD commitment and the Millennium Development Goals are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.

The MDGs, the ICPD and the Beijing Platform of Action (from the Fourth World Conference on Women) converge in their affirmation of women's human rights, including their reproductive rights, and the recognition that solving the world's most pressing problems demands the full participation and empowerment of women.

The MDGs are interrelated, and strategic efforts must push for progress on all targets simultaneously. They remain the starting point, and not the final steps, for eradicating poverty, safeguarding human rights and human security and achieving sustainable development.